In our family, Game Nights are something we try to do at least once a week. Spending time all together with no electronic devices is something very important to us - whether it be a good old fashioned board game or a heated challenge of darts. So when doing our renovation - a game room was a must. My husband is a huge soccer fan so we had purchased a Foosball table some time ago but with no real space upstairs it rarely got use in our basement - I was determined to see that table have some action! Take a look at how we transformed this space into a game pleaser for all:

First, in order to make the room an extension off of the family room we tore out a door space from the original wall of what was the garage and broke into what was a guest room. As we had load bearing beams along this wall we could not open the space as large as I would have originally wanted - so to keep with an open feel we added a large picture window along with the door. I envisioned being able to have guests that were in that room still feel like they were in the main room with everyone else.

Current view into family room:

My inspiration for this room was to make it a little whimsy while sticking to the rustic look that we were going for in the main room. I wanted to pull colors that I knew I planned to use in the main room - and I love to use color - so I thought of old vintage game boards and decided to have some fun with it!! In any redesign I think it is important to save money when you can by reusing the old materials. In the room we had paneling on the walls and although nothing special, with a little paint I made them fit in perfect with my design inspiration.

From the salvage yard I had found some amazing old trim from a Victorian house that must have gone through many changes of color. When sanded down a bit I was able to make a long ago coat of blue paint peek through a bit - which was ideal as blue was a main color in the big room. The trim was actually meant to be used as base board but I decided if I cut the pieces in half they were the perfect width to top off the paneling.

For the dart board, I painted the wall with my favorite Chalkboard paint. As I have mentioned in previous posts the more coats you use, the better. For this one I used 4 coats of paint. I found stained cork board panels at a craft store and nailed these to the wall to be a buffer behind the dart board - necessarily for those that are not a good aim! On one of my lucky trips to the Elephant Trunk antique show, I found these amazing pails that were perfect for holding the chalk, extra darts and erasers.

To add some seating, without taking up space, I went outside the box and made a little reading nook out of an existing closet. This was something the kids were very excited about and use all the time when reading a book or even doing homework! I used 2x4's cut into strips against the wall to act as braces to hold the top of the bench. Plywood was then used as a base for the front and I faced that with left over trim that was used on the paneling but in its full width not cut in half. Two shelves overhead hold books. The top of the seat is hinged so that we could use the space under for storage. I found a nice soft cushion at Joanne Fabric and then sewed a cover in a durable fabric. Two pillows sewed out of contrasting fabric were then made to add to the final look.

The space has also recently been discovered by two other memebers of the family that enjoy the cozy atmosphere!!

The trim I used for the ceiling was also something from a salvage yard. This trim was from an old Victorian house in New Haven that had been in a fire. Lucky for me the fire didn't do anything to ruin the wood however from the heat it chipped the paint and gave me a great rustic look without having to do much sanding!!

I sometimes feel the small touches you add to a room can make the world of difference and as always I like to find a way to do so on a budget and in a creative way. At a antique show, I found these old pool balls and added them to a glass jar for a fun centerpiece. Oddly enough the colors were suited perfectly for the room.

For art work in the room, I found old game boards at an antique show - since they didn't have their pieces in tact they cost hardly anything. For the Parcheesi board I made a frame out of fancy trim to give it a little more pizazz.

It is amazing how simply adding these games to our main living space has put them to use on a constant basis. As for the kids, when they have friends over it is a great place for them to gather and play games that are not found on an electronic device! And for the adults - I wouldn't be surprised if one day I come home to see a dart club going on in my house!!